Vera Smith poured the wine: "Then I'll drink with you too, Captain!"

"Hehe! That's more like it!" Paul Young tilted his head back and downed his drink in one gulp.

The celebration banquet didn't last very long; they all had classes the next morning, and the cafeteria was about to close, so the group left, supporting each other as they went.

A resounding victory in their first battle—what a crazy day this was for the freshmen of the History Department!

Chapter 006 The First Rain

In the second round of the Freshman Cup, Jason Bolton pulled off another hat trick, and the History Department crushed their opponents 7:1. For a while, Jason Bolton and the History Department became a legendary story everyone talked about. Whenever the History Department had a match, the stands were packed, and everyone looked forward to Jason Bolton scoring another hat trick and the History Department winning big again. U University is known for its rigorous academic atmosphere, but this year's Freshman Cup brought a touch of wildness to the campus.

Jason Bolton outshone everyone else in 701, as he was the star striker, scored the most goals, and wasn't bad-looking either. Walking around campus, he often caught the attention of both male and female students.

Jason Bolton was admitted as a special football recruit, and when he first arrived, he felt a bit inferior. But now, his success on the field had made him confident, and he was thoroughly enjoying everything.

Sophie was a bit worried; she always felt that things might not turn out well if this continued. Every time she saw Jason Bolton's vibrant face, she felt embarrassed to voice her concerns—after all, she had no real evidence, and thinking that way would hurt their relationship. Besides, Sophie understood Jason Bolton's personality; he had just entered such a prestigious university and really needed some encouragement to build his confidence. So, when Jason Bolton was surrounded by enthusiastic female fans after the match, Sophie didn't go over to interfere. She just stood quietly to the side, watching.

Paul Young was also quite popular, but most of his fans were male. At times like this, Sophie found it odd—Paul Young was better than Jason Bolton in many ways, so why didn't he have as much luck with women? Thinking about herself, after three years with Jason Bolton and Paul Young, she and Paul Young had always just been good friends, and she never had even the slightest thought of crossing that line. Paul Young must feel pretty frustrated too, right? Already this old, and still no girlfriend...

Even though the number of female fans made Jason Bolton dizzy, there was always one person who was closest to him. Vera Smith seemed to think that the foundation laid at that banquet was solid, and she always found various excuses to get close to Jason Bolton in class. For example, whenever there was a class committee meeting, she would make sure to find Jason Bolton when he was alone, chat with him for a long time, and then, in a businesslike tone, ask him to notify Paul Young about the time and place of the meeting.

When it came to romance, Jason Bolton was completely clueless. Vera Smith's "indirect approach" meant nothing to him. He just thought that this pretty girl who always asked him about football was simply interested in the sport, so he did his best to answer her questions, not wanting to disappoint a beautiful girl. Besides, chatting with a girl who was both pretty and outgoing wasn't a bad thing. Little did he know, her intentions were not about football at all.

Sophie had recently joined U University's pottery club, and as the class vice monitor, she had even less free time. She and Jason Bolton couldn't be together every day like in high school; now, at most, they saw each other every two days and talked on the phone at night. But phone calls cost money, and neither of them came from wealthy families, so there was no budget for long phone conversations in their monthly expenses.

"Shawn Thompson! Don't you run off!" A burly guy about 1.9 meters tall grabbed the "passing by" Shawn Thompson. "There's training later—where do you think you're going?"

Caught, Shawn Thompson grinned from ear to ear: "Hehe! Captain, I've already asked the coach for leave."

"Heh! Four days in a row..." The captain's expression changed as he leaned in close to Shawn Thompson's face. "Come on, tell the truth! Have you got your eye on some innocent little girl again?"

"Hehe! Captain, we're all men here—some things don't need to be said, right?"

The captain let go: "Just be back soon. I'm telling you, in half a month the CUBA preliminaries start, so you'd better stay in shape!" The captain glanced at the freshmen training nearby. "We're counting on you this year."

"Don't worry, don't worry!" Shawn Thompson laughed and ran off.

"That kid—always puts girls before the team..." The captain shook his head. "I just hope it doesn't make his injury worse..."

The pottery club teacher was guiding the students in making pottery. The students were all very enthusiastic about this "mud-sculpting" activity; even though their hands were covered in dirt, they were still having a great time.

"Shawn Thompson senior!" A petite girl sitting by the door greeted Shawn Thompson in a low, excited voice as he walked in.

Shawn Thompson, just entering, was startled. He looked down at the girl with two braided pigtails, black-rimmed glasses, and a face full of freckles, thinking, "U University may not have many beauties, but this is just too much! Studying is important, but come on, we're in college now—doesn't she know how important it is to dress up?" Still, he smiled politely at her: "Hello!"